Here is the crazy story about how I ended up in the UK, staying with a family I had never met before.

30 some years ago my dad decided to go to London for Christmas all by himself. He was reading the writings of Coates, Darby, and Macintosh.  It was Christmas Eve and he was listening to some salvation army carolers on the steps of Trafalgar Square.  Along came a moony, someone from a cult, who was trying to pin a rose on my dad. My dad of course said "No I don't want that" and turned to a stately English man and said "It's one of those moony's" the man turned to him and eventually asked if he was a believer. My dad of course said yes and asked if he had read any of those books, and coincidentally, the man had read every one of them! They got to talking and the man and his wife invited my dad over for Christmas dinner.

My dad went back to his hotel and then realized that he wouldn't be able to go to Christmas dinner because all of the trains would be closed. So when Mr and Mrs Bacon called him up to give him directions, my dad broke the news. The couple then decided they would drive 30 minutes in London traffic to pick my dad up from  his hotel.  He then had met their son Jim Bacon who was near my dad's age and they became friends.  My dad then went back to the UK to visit them two more times and brought my mom on their honeymoon as well!

So over the years we have exchanged emails, Christmas cards, etc, staying in touch on an infrequent basis.

So Jim married Rowena and they had four kids, Luke, Naomi, William, and David. And So I am staying with them and their family!

They are such a great family, with a wonderful sense of humor and incredibly hospitable! Although none of us had never met before we seem to get a long extremely well from my point of view, (they could thing I am a crazy weird american, but you'll have to ask them!) (;

It has been so fun getting to know them and I feel so blessed that I got to stay with the Bacon family. Really truly wonderful people. And i'm not just saying that because they may be reading my blog :) You guys are super great, and I am loved my time in Sevenoakes!

GAHH! To all my readers and supporters, I am so sorry it has taken me this long to get something up! It has been a crazy past two weeks filled with wonderful people and adventures!

I am so in love with Norway, everything is so cozy, or as the Norwegians say "Koselig". Grimerud Gard, where I am staying is the most beautiful, serene, peaceful place I think I have ever been. The staff at the base are all so kind and welcoming and I have made quite a few acquaintances/friends already! Since there are so many things I could tell you about, I will just name a few of the highlights!

1. Laken and Henning's Wedding!!!! It was literally the most beautiful thing I have ever been to, filled with an abundance of love for God as well as each other! Another Highlight, so numero two I suppose was... 2. THE CAKE TABLE! They had 30+ different cakes Henning's family had made! What a display! I am so happy to say I tried everyone of them! #noregrets 

3.  Thanks to Laken, I discovered my new favorite "kafé" called Larsen. Think if Anthropology and Urban Outfitters had a baby that was a coffee shop, it would be this place! It is so whimsy and I could waste all of my life's savings in there, buying decorations for a home I don't have! I love sitting in the cozy chairs by the window, people watching, while I sip my cappuccino! (I also 'splurged' on a new comforter, my favorite color blue with a vintage design, perfect for spicing up my dorm and at half the cost of its mother, anthropology!)

4. ROAD TRIP!!! My parents and I took a classic road trip, Norwegian style! Camping along the ever so picturesque, whimsical Geiranger Fjord! We also were invited to have dinner with Henning's Aunt and Uncle up in Alesund, and that was just so much fun! We had a delicious salmon dinner and had great conversation! We were there till almost 11:00pm! We then journeyed down to Bergen which had an incredible fish market right on the bay! Overall it was a wonderful adventure and I was glad to share it with my parents:)

We then came back and stayed with Ingrid and Ingmund, Henning's parents, and had many wonderful meals and conversations there as well! And then it was time for goodbyes! My parents left early Sunday morning, it was hard to see them go but I know this is where I am supposed to be, and I am just so blessed and grateful that they got to come with me for holiday!

I am now all settled into my dorm, and have met some really incredible people! I was a little scared at first because I was so intimidated by all of the people, (I even skipped dinner the first night on my own because I was so shy) But now that I have been helping people out and making friends it has been a real answer to prayer! Yesterday, I went swimming with some new friends down to the biggest lake in Norway, Mjøsa, which Is only a 5 minute drive away from the base! It was very very frigid, and I felt like I couldn't breathe for a while but what an experience to say I have swam in Norway's largest lake!

I will have some down time tomorrow and then I am off to London for a week to meet up with some old friend's of my parents and to explore the wonderful city! I will also be posting some pictures soon from these past few weeks! 

I hope everyone is well back in the states and I will try to update more often!:) 

God bless you all!